Sole-laying machine



v 1,642;o17 Sept. n 13, 1927. A. c. ESTEY SOLE LAYING MACHINE.

Filed Jan. 26. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 13, 1927. A Q ESTEY SOLELAYING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept.- 13, 1927. A.C ESTEY SOLE LAYING MACHINE Fiied Jan. ze. 1922 4 Sheets-sheet 5 "7/ 7?Wwf/WUR t. 1 Sep 13 927 A. c. EsTl-:Y

SOLE LAYING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 /NVE/V T05'A'//j/"I i Patented sept. 1.3, 1927,

UNITED STA T Es PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR`C. ESTEY, OF FAYVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T UNITED SHOEMACHINERY CORPORATION, oF PATEnsON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 'or NEWJERSEY.

` SOLE-LAYING MA'oHiNE.

Application led January 26, 1922. Serial No. 531,879.

. rI`his invention .relates to machines for operating upon boots-andshoes and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for layingunvulcanized soles of rubber, rubberized pressing members-.to moveinwardly or similar material upon the bottomsof shoes. l

' In laying'an unvulcanized rubber sole it is usuallydesirablenot onlyto press the sole firmly againstf the bottomof the shoe,

but also to bend the margin. of the sole up wardly and to press itagainst the lower portions of the sidesl of theshoe. 'In someirubber-soled footwear, such `as sneakers, the

upward-bending of the margin of the sole is comparatively slight; but inother types, `such as arctics, the sole is sometimes rolled up aroundthe"sidesV of the shoe for half an inch or more. I

The general object of the present inven-' tion isto protvide a machinefor laying all 4kinds Ofrubber or similar soles and partie-- ularly` forlayingA rolled-edge soles, 'in the process of which pressure is app-liedboth in a direction substantially perpendicular -to thebottom of theshoe and in a direction' substantially perpendicular to the sides of theshoe. i

According to one feature of the present inyention, there are provided abottompressing' member-or membersand side pressing members together withmeansfor causing the bottom-pressing member to press ythe sole againstthe bottom of the shoe and the d an pressagainst 'the lsides of theshoe'. -Con- ',veniently the machine may comprise a support for a lastedshoe. a box-like structure adapted to receive a shoe and having movablesides, means for causing relative movement of approach between thesupport and the box to cause'the shoe to enter the box, and meansforthen moving the sides of the box inwardly j'so as'to cause them toclose about the shoe. With. such a construction the body of the sole ispressed firmly against 4the bottom of the shoe and the sides of the .boxmove inwardly to press the upturned l margin ofthe sole against thelower portions of thesides of thefshoe.

These and other features of the invention including 'certaiil details ofconstruction and combinations'of parts will be described as embodied. inan illustrative machine and pointed out in the` appendedfclaims.

A Referring to the accompanying drawings, 'Fig'. 1 1s a cross sectionthrough the forepart of a lasted shoe with an uncured rubber coleadhering to its bottom and ready "to be' partly in elevation, showingarmachine, in

which` the present invention. is embodied with a shoe and its sole in.the positions which theyl occupy just prior to .thelsole layingoperation.' The sole shown in this .figure is of a somewhat differentshape from that shown in Figs. l and 2, and has a prof. jecting flangewhich is designed to be turned up and pressed against the lower portionof the sides of the shoe.

Fig. 4 is a view, principally in cross sec# tion, of the same machineand shoe which `are shown in Fig. 3, but with the parts in the positionswhichthey occupy at the completion of the sole laying operation.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the machine on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3, aportion of the rubber 'blankets which cover the opening in the boxhaving been broken away. Fig. 6..is a vertical longitudinal. crosssectilpn through the lower portion of the `ma c me.

Fig. 7 isaV view, partly in section'and.

-partly in side` elevation of as portion of a machine embodying amodified form of the invention. i I

Fig. 8 is a plan of the parts which are shown in Fig. 7. c .f

.Fig. 9 is a vertical cross section of the machine shown in Fig. 7 withthe arts in the .ositions which the occupy att e comi.

pletion of the sole vaying operation, a-

lasted shoe.` being shown with its lower portion extending into the box,and

Fig..l0 is a cross section, similar to Fig.

9,' but showing the parts of the machinein Referring rst to Figs. 1 and2, there is shown in -Fi-g. ly a lasted shoe having adhering to itsbottom an unvulcanized rubtheir normal ositions. 'f'

ber sole of the s o-called roll-edge i type. n Fig. 2 this sole is showninthe position. which vit occupiesafter it has been laid. It will benoted that the main portion ofthe sole has .been pressed rmly againsttra that the bottom oit the shoe and that 'the margin oit the sole hasbeen bent upwardly and pressed against the lower portions ot the sidesot the slice. 'lhe sole 200 shown in Figs. 3 and et has a ilangeextending outwardly trom a portion ot' its edge; and in the laying cithis sole, this Flange should be bent upwardly and pressed against thelower portions of the sides oit the shoe. ldlhile therefore, the twosoles which have been illustrated 'are et a somewhat differentconstruction, they require practically the same treatment injorder to belaid properly.

ln lthe illustrated machine, the shoe is forced into a box-likestructure, which, tor convenience7 will bereierred to merely as theboni. The lower portion oit the shoe is tirst moved into the box wherebythe projecting margin ot the sole is bent upwardly; and then the soleAis pressed against the bottom ot the box, and the sides ot the boa arecaused to move inwardly so as to press the upturned margin et the soleagainst the sides ot' the shoe. ln the machine shown in Figs. 3'to 6inclusive. the carrier tor the box is indicated at 13. This carrier ismovable up and down, being guided in its movement by rods 15, and anysuitable mechanism may be employed for moving it up to apply the solelaying pressure and for drawing it down after the sole has been laid,the duration of the application of pressure being very short owing tothe nature of unvulcanized rubber. A lasted shoe is indicated at 17; andthe last isisupported against th sole laying pressure in the usualmanner by a heel post and a toe ost,`the latter being indicated at 21.The eel post is provided with the usual last pin whichfis received inthe usual socket in the last. 21 is provided with'a toe rest in the formof` a rollb 23 composed of suitable resilient materiabsuch as rubber.The heel post and toe post are adjustably mounted upon an adjustablehead 25; the latter being arranged to be adjusted up and down on theguide rods l5. The head is bored and tapped for the reception ofadjusting screws 27 which are rotatably. mounted in but held :tromlongitudinal movement with respect to a stationary head 29. Theadjusting screws have bevel gears at their upper yends which meshrespectively with bevel gears upon. a horizontal rotary shaft 31, saidshaft having t handle 33 by which it may be turned to raise and lowerthe adjustable head E25 and consequently the lasted shoe. .The heel postand toe post are adjustable toward and from each other along a ledgeformed on the head 25. The machine as thus far described, except theconstruction of the box,

'of a: shoe.

The toe post ing in the rubber member 51.

anism :lier causing thecarrier 13 to be raised and lowered has not beenshown since any suitable mechanism may be employed which will actrapidly so as not to prolong the pressure upon the uncured rubber sole.Con veniently toggle levers, one of which shown as 2G, may be employed.

lifiounted upon the carrier 13 is a trame 35 which carries the parts otthe collapsible box. rlhis box comprises a bottoni which is movable upand down, andsides which are movable inwardly and outwardly. ln theillustrated machine, there are six ot' these side members, two at eachside and one at each end. lThe bottom member comprises a plate 3? tastte the upper end ot a plunger 39, said plunger being slidable in a vertical bore formed in the trame and being prevented from rotating bymeans oli' a key l1 (Fig. (i). Mounted upon the plate 37 isa thick pieceet" rubber a3. Each side member. is in the Jform of a lever l5 pivotedat l? te the frame 35 and having an inof movement et the plate 37 sothat when a shoe 'is forced into the box and thereby pushes the plate 37downwardly, the sides of the box will be rocked about their pivots et?into the positions shown in Fig. Il.' rlfhe levers l5 are formed withrectangular grooves and inthese grooves is held a continuous thick pieceof rubber 51. It will be noted by referring to F ig. 5 that the rubberis so shaped that it encloses a substantially sole-shaped opening thecontour ot which corresponds to that of the lower part This endlesspiece of rubber possesses sultieient elasticity to return the sides ofthe box from the positionswhich they occupy in'Fig. 4 to their'normalpositions .l0 may also be employed. Extending over the opening in thebox is a resilient member herein shown as two thick sheets of rubber 53.

In the, operation of this machine. a lasted shoe with an uncured soleadhering to its bottom is placed in position on the jack, and then thecarrier 13 is caused to make a rapid reciproeation. As the shoe movesinto the box the margin ofthe sole is bent upwardly .by reason of thesole-shaped open- Presently the sole encounters the movable bottom orseat and presses it downwardly. The downward movement of' the bottomrocks the sidesot the box inwardly and causes them to collapse in adirection to press the upturned margin of the sole against the sides ofthe shoe. It will befnote-d by referring toV Fig. 4 that the pressureexerted by collapsing the sides of the box is proportional to thepressure against the bottom of the sole so that the more pressureapplied to thebottom lof the sole, the more is applied to the upturnedmargin. 'In the illustrated machine, the bottom of the box has beenutilized to serve as an actuating memberY for the collapsible sides, notessential that the bottom lof .theA box or any part of it should serveas such4 actating member. y

Referring now more particularlyL to Figs. 7 to 10, the machine, exceptfor the construction of the box, is practically the same as that whichhas just been'described. In

the machine shown in these figures, the car-` rier 61, which is slidableon the rods 15, is shaped somewhat di'erentl so as to receive adifferentlyv shaped rame 63. This frame lprovides a vertical guideway inwhich the bottom 65 of the lbox is slidablef said bottom being supportedby coiled ,springs 67.which at their upper ends encircle guide pins 68formed on the bottom of the box and -at their` lower ends encirclesimilar pins 70 formed" on the frame f63.

The collapsible sidesn 72 of the box are each pivotedA at 69 tothe'frame, and each has an inwardly extending arm carrying at itsextremityK a roll 71 which co-operates with van inclined face 73 formedon the bottom i 65. As shown .best in Fig. 8, the sides ,of

the`box comprise six members or sections .72 two on each side of the boxand one on each end; and the inner faces of these members have acombined contour which lis substantially sole shaped. Faste'ncd to theinner faces of the side members is an endless strip of rubber75;and'fast to the top of the bottom member 65 is an elastic strip 77. Thebox in this case is shown as practically filled with small pieces ofrubber 79, these pieces of: rubber serving as a cushion and takingtheplace ofthe single thick piece of rubber 43 Awshown in the machine.of Figs. 1' to 7 .i -Stretched across the opening of the Ybox is aseries-of rubber cords 81 the opposite ends of whichI are firmly held inclamps 83.

` The mode of operation of this modified machineis similar to that ofthe `one which was first described. The carrier 61 is moved upwardly tocause the shoe to enter the box. {As the shoe enters they box, themargin of the sole is bent upwardly; and then as the shoe moves fartherint t e box, the bottonr is depressed against the springs 67 andthesides of the box are rocked about their pivots 69 so as to exertpressure against the upwardly bent mar in of the sole. The series ofcords' 81, 1i e the .sheets 53 of the machine which was first described,orm a resilient cover for the box. Their purpose, like that of thesheets,`is vto insure thatthe margin of the-so1e shall be wiped upwardlyandi that there shall be but it should be understood that it is pressureall` along the lower portions of they sides of the shoe. It is of courseimpractical to make the sole-shaped opening in theJ top of the boxcorrespond exactly to the outline of the bottom of each shoe. The

yrubber cords shown in Figs. 7 to 10 and the` rubber sheets shown in themachine in Figs. 1 to 6 are resilient and deformable and. consequentlytend to make up for the difference between the youtline vof the openingin the top of the box and the outline of the bottom of the shoe. Itshould be understood, however, that 'the sheets or cords are notessential in the broader aspects of the invention.

Although the invention has been described as embodied in a particularmachine in which the side-pressing members are connected with andoperated by the bottom-pressing member, it should be understoodthat theinvention is not limited in the scope of its application to theparticular nmachine which has been shown and described.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is Y 1. A machine for-laying anunvulcanized rubber sole on the bottom Iof a lasted shoe, having, incombination, a resilient member for pressing the sole against the bottomof the shoe, resilient members for pressing the upturned margin of thesole against the sides of the shoe, means for causing the sole to beforced against the bottom-pressing member, and means for moving the-sidey pressing members toward the shoe.

Q. `A machine for layingfan unvulcanized rubber sole on a shoe, havmg,1n combination,a box-like structure having collapsible sides and anopening through which thel lower portion of the shoe may be caused toenter the box, -a 'support for the shoe, means for causing relativemovement between thesupport and the box to cause the shoe to Vanunvulcanized sole to move into the opening thereby carrying a portion ofthe kresilientcover with it and turning upwardly the margin of the sole,and means other than the cover for moving the members'inwardly sogas topress the upturned margin of the sole against the sides of the shoe. p

llc

all

till

il. machine ior layingan unvulcaniaed rubber sole on a shoe comprising abox-lille structure having collapsible sides and an openingl throughwhich the lower portion olf the shoe may be caused to enter the box, anda single operatingthrust member, movement of which causes the sides otthe box to collapse against the sides ot the shoe.

A. machine tor laying an unvulcaniaed rubber sole on a shoe comprisinga, box-lilre structure having collapsible sides and an opening throughwhich the lower portion of the shoe may be caused to enter the box, asingle operating thrust member positively connected to the sidesections, and adapted when moved in one direction under pressure oif theshoe to collapse the sides ot the box against the lower side portions.

o. A. device for laying an unvulcanized rubber sole on a slice,comprising a box-like structure having side sections adapted to becollapsed, a member ot resilient material through which the sidesections act when collapsed, an opening through which the lower portionot a shoe may be caused to enter the box, and an operating memberpositively connected with the side sections and operating when moved inone direction to collapse the sections so as to cause them to exertpressure upon the lower side portions of the shoe and when moved inanother direction to move the side sections outwardly so as to permitthe shoe to be withdrawn.

7. A machine for laying an unvulcanized rubber sole on a shoe comprisinga box-like structure having movable side sections including rigidportions and yielding portions, an actuating member located in the pathof the shoe which isfcrced into the box, having rigid portionsadapted toengage the rigid portions of the side sections, and means responsive topressure exerted by the shoe upon the actuating member for causing theyielding portions to close about the shoe.

8. A machine for laying an unvulcani'zed. rubber sole on a shoecomprising a box having a bottom including a portion of rigid material,and side sections movable inwardly and outwardly each side sectionincluding a portion of rigid material arranged to engage the rigidportion of the bottom,`the bottom being normally in its inward positionand the sides in their outward positions, the construction andarrangement-being such that movement of the bottom, through theengagement of said rigid portions, causes the side sections to moveinwardly.

9. A sole laying device comprising a boxlilte structure having movableside and bottom members, and unyieldingconnections between said memberserich that pressure upon a bottom member causes a side member to moveinwardly.

l0. A sole la ing device comprising a boxlilrc structure liiavingmovable side and bottom members and means whereby pressure exerted bythe sole oli a lasted shoe against a bottom member moves the sidemembers positively toward the sides ol the shoe.

l1. A machine for laying` an unvulcanized rubber sole on a shoecomprising a box-like structure having collapsible side sections and anopening through which the lower portion ot the shoe may be caused toenter the lower portion oit the box, a lining oi resilient ma terial torsaid sections and an operating member connected with the sides andmovable to cause the sides ot the box to collapse against the sides ofthe slice. l

l2. A sole laying. device comprising a boxlilre structure having movableside sections, a liningot1 resilient material for said sections, anactuating member ior said sections located in the path ot a shoe whichis forced into said box, and means responsive to the pressure exerted bythe bottom of the shoe upon the actuating member for Causing the sidesections to close about and exert pressure against the sides of theshoe.

' 13. A sole laying device comprising a boxlike structure having movableside sections, a lining of resilient material for said sections, abottom for the box, a lining oi Yresilient material for said bottom, andmeans responsive vto the pressure exerted by the bottom of the shoe uponthe bottom ofthe box for causing the side sections to close about andexert pressure against the sides ,of the shoe.

14. A sole-laying device comprising a boxlike structure having movableside and bottom members, resilient material mounted on the operativefaces ot' said members, and connections between said members such thatpressure exerted upon a bottom member causes the side members to moveinwardly.

15./ A sole laying deviceconipr-ising a boxlike structure having movableside and bottom members, resilient material mounted on the operativefaces of said members, and meansv whereby pressure exerted by a shoeupon a bottom member causes the side members to press against the sidesof the shoe.

16. A sole laying device comprising a boxlike structure havingcollapsible sidesV and yan opening to receive the lower portion oi aAshoe, a resilient cover for the opening, an

operating member for the sides, 'and connections between the member andthe sides such that when the shoe is placed upon the resilient cover andforced into the box, the sides are collapsed to exert pressure upon thesides of the shoe.

17. A solelaying device comprising a boxlike structure having movable ibottom and side members, the side members enclosing an opening which issubstantially soleshaped, a thiol; body of resilient material supportedupon the bottom, a resilient member extending across the opening, andmeans gli for causing the bottom and side members to move in directionsto exert pressure upon the bottom and lower side portions of a shoe.

18. A machine of theclass described having, in combination, a series ofpressers enclosing an opening, means for placing in the opening thevlower portion of a shoe having attached thereto a rubber sole, the sizeof the opening being such that the margin of the sole is bent upwardly,and means for moving the pressers inwardly to press the upturned marginof the sole against the sides of the shoe.

19. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a series ofpressers enclosing an opening, means for placing in the opening thelower portionof a shoe having attached thereto a rubber sole, the sizeof the opening being such that the margin of the sole is bent upwardly,andY positively operated means for moving the pressers inwardly to pressthe upturned margin of the sole against the sides of the shoe.

20. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a series ofpressers having faces of resilient material enclosing an opening, meansfor placing in the opening the lower portion of a shoe having attachedthereto a rubber sole, the size of the opening -being such that themargin of the sole is bent upwardly, and means for moving the pressersinwardly to press the upturned margin of the sole against the sides ofthe shoe.

21. A machine of the classdescribed having, in combination, a box-likestructure having collapsible side sections pivoted thereto, a movablebottom, and arms on the side sections having depending portions locatedin the path of movement of the bottom wherebyf` when the bottom is moveddownwardly the side. sections are moved inwardly.

22. A machine of the character described having, in combination, a seat,a series of members surrounding said seat, a@ resilient and a series ofside members forming a boxlike structure, said bottom member and sidemembers being so co-operatively arranged that a pressure change ineither the bottom member or the side members causes a correspondingrelative pressure change in the other members or member.

2B. A machine of the character described comprising a box-likestructure, the bottom of the structure being. composed of a resilientmember, and the sides of the structure comprising a series of pressermembers, said members being capable of moving inwardly and outwardly andco-operating with the resilient bottom member so as t0 press the bottomand margin of an unvulcanize'd rubber sole firmly against the bottom andsides of a shoe. f

26. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a bottommember and a series of side members surrounding said bottom member andforming'with it a boxlike structure, and means vfor causing the lowerport-ion of a shoe, having attached thereto an unvulcanized sole to moveinto the structure, said side members being so pivotally arranged as torock downwardly and inwardly to 'bend the margin of the sole about theedge of the shoe and press it rmly against the side thereof. p

In testimony whereof I have signed my `name to this specification.

ARTHUR c. Es'rnv.

